[fuddy duddy] when is it time to get out

Having just left an opinion at Blogpower which puts me squarely within the "fuddy-duddy" category, as opposed to the "bright young things" who Google execs refer to as hip, happening and displaying "a sense of urgency", this article was of interest:

In 1982, Brian Reid received the prestigious Grace Murray Hopper Award for his work in developing an early word processing system.

Later, while working at Digital Equipment Corporation, he pioneered an experiment in electronic publishing that was a precursor to the forums and discussion board that are now a pervasive part of the internet.

And it was there than he was also involved in the creation of the first firewall and, in 1991, the leading search engine of its day, Alta Vista.

Things change and people age:

Reid claims that despite receiving a thumbs up performance review in which he was praised as "very intelligent" and "creative", he was sacked at the age of 54 after being told he was a cultural mis-match.

He lost a mega-salary and millions in stock options.

Urs Hoelzle, a Google manager 12 years his junior, was … said to have dismissed Reid's opinions and ideas as "obsolete" and "too old to matter".

My opinion is of no consequence. However, for what it's worth, I think they're right and that will surprise some, coming from me. Just as I don't understand half of what is going down now, technologically, I realize I must and am still capable of learning.

The problem is that I'm doing now what people did yesterday - Google Reader, mastering html, aggregating and so on. I'm poised to go Mac and learn that, with plans to use Wi-Fi and most certainly remote internet access will come with the new laptop. I have every intention of exploring the possibilities.

So I'm not turning my back on the new tech - it's just taking longer to get into it and this represents, to the young turks, a reactionary influence. Hence the comments transferred to me: "obsolete" and "too old to matter".

In a company like Google, he really had eventually become a cultural mis-match and perhaps his talents should have been directed to other start up companies where he could have called the shots and secured the talent. With his acumen, he could have created a niche slot.

Or not.

If he couldn't do that, if he was so far into the 9 to 7 comfort zone lifestyle and the things which actually do matter in life, which suits a happily married, aging man, this is fine but it is not what's required in the cut-throat computer game.

My ex-girlfriend's grandfather developed a start up company supplying hi-tech helicopter parts and till the day he died he was being consulted, for juicy fees, so he was able to successfully move laterally in his later years.

Perhaps this is what Brian Reid should have been looking at when he first started hearing the young turks comments, rather than trying this costly and ultimately futile rearguard action.

In his game, once you can't cut it any more, you simply can't cut it and it's time to develop your own expertise in your own way.

And as I know very well in the blogging game, you're only as good as your last post.